Method of and apparatus for making fabric covered cores



c. N. STOVER 2,364,560

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FABRIC COVERED CORES Dec. 5, 1944.

Filed Oct. 30, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 c N. STOVER 2,364,560

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FABRIC COVERED CORES Filed Oct. 30, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 5,

- 2,384,560 METHOD or sun msnsrus Foa MAKING FABRIC covnnnn cones I Clyde N. Stover, Towson, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company,

Incorporated, New York,-

N. Y., a'corporation of New York Application October 30, 1941, Serial No. 417,102

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for making a fabric covered core.

In weft knit coverings for conductor cores in which the courses run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conductor there is a tendency for the meshes of theknitted fabric to-open when the conductor is twisted. This is not objectionable .for many uses of such coverings but for some purposes it is desirable to'have a fabric in which the meshes do not open when the conductor is twisted in either direction, 7 i

- Objects of the present invention are to provide, a method of and apparatus for making a knitted fabric covering for a conductor in which the meshes do not open when the conductor is twisted.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a knitted fabric covering is applied to an electrical conductor in such a manner that the courses spiral around the core in one direction and the wales spiral therearound in the opposite direction whereby any tendency of the meshes of the knitting to open upon twisting or bending the conductor is reduced to a minimum One form of apparatus by means of which the method may be practiced comprises a knitting head car- I ried upon a stationary frame upon which above and below the knitting head are bodily rotatable core supply and take-up reels, respectively, and

a bodily rotatable-capstan between the knitting head and the take-up reel, all rotating in a direction similar to that of carrier.

' Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic front elevational view of one embodiment of a knitting machine embodying features of the invention and by means of which the method may be practiced,

Fig. 2' is a greatly enlarged fragmentary view of Fig. l; partly in section, showing the lower portion of the machine, and

the' knitting head needle 1y to Fig. 1, a stationary frame Iii is shown upon which is mounted a knitting head, indicated in 1 general/st II, which may be of any suitable construction, the particular knitting head shown being of the type described inore in detail in U. S. Patent No. 2,239,406 to C. N. Stover, of April 22, 1941. In the operation of the apparatus a suitable number of threads I! are drawn from supply spools or cops l3 supportedon the frame I 0..

Bodily rotatable about the vertical axis of the knitting head II at the upper end of the frame HI 'is a supply reel H carrying a core or electrical conductor I! to be covered in accordance with the method of this invention. The reel I4 is r0- tatable about its longitudinal axis upon a spindle l6 carried on a yoke shaped frame l'l having a 7 depending hollow vertical spindle l8 suitably journalled in the frame. It and through which the conductor l5 travels knitting head ll. 1

Mounted below the knitting head ll upon a cross frame IQ of the frame 60 is a bodily rotatable capstan 20 (Fig. 2) for drawing the conductor I! from the supply reel l4 and through the knitting head II. The capstan 20 is rotatably mounted on a hollow standard 2! rotatablyjournalled on the cross frame l9 about the vertical axis of the knitting head. Depending from thestandard 2 I is a hollow spindle 22 to which is attached a yoke shaped frame 25 for supporting a take-up reel 2t for the covered conductor IS, the take-up reel being suitably attached to a rotatable spindle 21 journalled in the frame 25. The conductor l5 passes from the capstan 20, through the hollow standard 2| and spindle to the takeup reel 28 which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis with the spindle 21.

The core supply and take-u reels i4 and 2! respectively, and the capstan in the present of the knitting head I I also rotates in a direction similar to that of the supply and take-up reels and capstan although at a higher rate of speed. For bodily rotating in unison in a counterclockwise direction the supply and take-up reels and capstan, rotating the capstan aud take-upre'el about their horizontal axes and for operating the knitting head H; the following driving mechanism, in the present embodiment of the invention, is provided.

Mounted on the upper endsurface of the frame fromthereel to the 'wheel 84 which is operatively connected to a sprocket wheel 35 fixed. to the hollow spindle I 8 of the supply reel frame H by a sprocket chain '38, Below 2. base and gear box 39 of the knitting head N ha horizontal shaft 40 which is driven at one end from the shaft 32 by bevel gears 4i fixed to the shafts. The shaft 40 at its opposite end drives a shaft 42 depending from the knitting head gear box 39 by means of bevel gears 45 iixed to the shafts. Atits lower end below the cross frame .l 9 the shaft- 32 has fixed thereto a sprocket wheel #86 which is operativelyconnec'ted to a sprocket wheel M carried by the take-up reel frame 25 by a sprocket chain 48.

During the bodily rotation of the capstan 20 and its standard 2! the capstan is rotated at a suitable speed about itslongitudinal axis in order to drawthe covered conductor 15 through the knitting, head and feedit to the take-up reel 26/ This is effected by means of a stationary beveled ring gear to surrounding the standard 2i and fixed to the cross frame l9 and meshing with a beveled pinion 52 fixed to a shaft 53 journalled on the standard. Attached to the shaft 53 is a sprocket wheel 54 which is operatively connected by a sprocket chain 55 to a sprocket wheel 58 fixed to a shaft 60 journalled in the-standard 2| carrying the capstan 20. It will be apparent dur ing the counterclockwise bodily rotation of the capstan 20 and its standard 2| which carries'the bevel pinion52 that the latter will be rotated due 1 axis with the spindle 21 in order to take-up the covered conductor I5. Due to the increasing diameter of the wound-up covered conductor IS on the reel it is necessary in order to maintain a substantially constant tension on the covered conductor and to take it up uniformly that the speed of rotation of the reel be reduced as the diameter of the covered conductor wound -up on the reel increases. Surrounding and rotat- -ably free on the spindle 22 which depends from the capstan standard 2| is a sleeve-like member 2,864,660 the shaft 32 below the gears 33 is a. sprocket I6 for traversing the mechanism 18 is driven from the shaft 61 by cooperating gears 11 fixed to the shafts. y 4

A more detailed description and disclosure of the means described above for laying the covered conductor uniformly across the reel is not believed necessary since such mechanisms are well knownin the art of reeling and are not believed necessary to a full understanding of this invention.

A fabric madeby the apparatus described as stated above has its course spiralling around the core in one direction and its wales spiralling around the core in the opposite direction. Another way of describing the knitted covering of this invention would be to say that the lines or series. of knots formed at the bases of the loops spiral around the core in one direction and the loops spiral around the core in the'opposite directlon.

It will be noted that the thread supplies in the apparatus described do not rotate about the be substantially parallel to the axis of the con- 6| having a gear 62 formed thereon. The gear 7 ing shaft 61 which is driven from the shaft as by beveled gears 68 fixed to the shafts To an end of the shaft 61 is attached a sprocket wheel 89 which is operatively connected to a sprocket wheel 10, fixed to the take-up reel spindle 21, by a sprocket chain 'Il.

The member St is also formed with a brake drum13 around which extends a brake band H which is suitably tensioned and controlled by means (not shown) which functions to apply the desired braking action of the band '14 on the drum I3. A reduction in the speed of rotation of the Pinion 63 is efl'ectedthrough slippage of drum 13' reducing the speed of rotation of the take-up reel 26- a it becomes filled with the covered conductor 15.

journalled in the take-up reel frame 25. Jour- The covered conductor I! as it is wound upon the reel 26 is uniformly laid back and forth across ductor, but by bodily rotating the conductor the courses may be spiralled at any desired-angle or pitch, depending upon the rate of rotation of the conductor for a given longitudinal speed. In

order for the courses and wales to spiral in an opposite sense the needle cylinder and conductor must rotate in the same direction. It is obvious from these considerations that the conductor may be made non-rotativ and the thread supplies and needle cylinder rotated in opposite directions to produce the same result.

It will be umlerstood that the nature and embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are merely illustrative and; that many changes and modifications maybe made therein without dc- 2. A method ofapplying a knitted covering to a conductor which comprises drawing a conductor through a knitting head, and causing simultaneous rotation of the knitting head needle cylinder and the conductor at different speeds in the same direction while maintaining the thread supply stationary to produce a fabric in which the courses spiral around the conductor in one direction and the wales in an opposite direction.

3. 'An apparatus for applying a knitted fabric covering to a core comprising thread supplies, a needle cylinder, a rotatable core supply. means for drawing. core through said needle cylinder to knit a coveringthereover, including a, rotatable take-up mechanism, and means for rotating said core supply and take-up mechanism to cause the courses and wales to spiral in opposite directions around the core. 1 1

4; An apparatus for applying a knitted fabric to a core comprising stationary thread supplies; a rotatalbleneedle cylinder, 9. bodily rotatable core supply, means for drawing the core from 2,884,560 the rotating supply and through the needle cylinder, and means for simultaneously rotating the core supply and needle cylinder in the same direction at diflerent speeds eflective to cause the courses and wales to spiral in opposite directions around the core.

5. An apparatus for applying a knitted fabric to a core comprising a supply means for a core, take-up means for a core, means arranged between said supply and take-up means for arpplying a knitted fabric to said core, and means for rotating'said supply and take-up means on the longitudinal axis of the core passing through the means for applying the knitted fabric in such a direction and at such speed as to cause the courses and wales to spiral, around the core in opposite directions.

6. An apparatus for applying a knitted fabric to a conductor comprising a stationary frame, stationary thread supplies carried thereon, conductor supply and take-up means carried upon opposite ends of said frame, aneedle cylinder between saidsupply and take-up means, and means for simultaneously bodily rotating said supply and take-up means at the same speed and the needle cylinder at a difl'erent speed in the same direction on the longitudinal axis of the conductor passing through the needle cylinder to cause the courses and wales to spiral in opposite directions around the conductor.

7. An apparatus for applying a knitted fabric to a conductor comprising a stationary frame, stationary thread supplies carried thereon, rotatable conductor supply and take-up means carried upon opposite ends of said frame, a rotatable needle cylinder carried upon said frame between said supply and take-up means, a 1'0- tatalble and driven capstan carried upon said frame between said needle cylinder and take-up means for drawing the conductor through said needle cylinder from said supply, and means carried on said frame for simultaneously bodily rotating said supply and take-up means, needle cylinder and capstan in the same direction on the longitudinal axis of the conductor passing through the needle cylinder and driving said capstan at a suitable speed to cause the courses and wales to spiral in opposite directions, the needle up means and capstan.

v CLYDE N. STOVER. 

